Vanya Surtova
Sheet here. Appearance Vanya is a effeminate and sylphlike youth who might be mistaken for a girl in her early teens. Silver hair touches the boy's shoulders, framing a childlike face and wide red eyes. He is quite short, and looks frail enough that a stiff breeze might knock him over. The half-elf does not seem especially graceful, yet he carries himself with a stately poise fitting of a prince... and a fey, otherworldly bearing that draws the eyes of lesser men. Vanya's clothing is comprised of a simple and unassuming off-shoulder robe of white, a camisole and leggings of black, and yellow ribbons and shoes. Background In hindsight, perhaps it was a poor call for Noleski Surtova to acquiesce to his sister's demands of "Please marry someone" by wedding a fey-blooded elven noblewoman from nearby Iadara. That would explain why his firstborn child turned out to be such a strange young boy. Vanya took his studies in statesmanship seriously enough, though he would also grow quite engrossed in reading all sorts of surreal fairy tales of the First World. The child's other hobbies included spending long bouts in the forests talking to the local birds, pretending to be a lowly servant in the palace or in the stables, and staring into reflective surfaces for hours on end. His faerie magic of light and illusionry facilitated many a mischievous prank in the Ruby Fortress, though Vanya never laughed, and only ever observed reactions with rapt fascination. The young boy had a propensity for styling his appearance effeminately, and his father was deathly afraid that he might just take to crossdressing. Things took a turn for the weird when one of Vanya's hours of gazing into reflective surfaces was interrupted by the mirror-borne arrival of the Stained Glass Knight. She was an Eldest from the First World who had long since been trapped within the Material Plane. The Stained Glass Knight had built up a positive reputation and a knighthood in the northeastern quadrant of Avistan, and every so often, she would recruit from an early age. Vanya was her latest recruit. Noleski threw his hands up and went, "What is the worst that could happen?", and permitted his son's induction into the Stained Glass Champions. Over the next several years, the little half-elf was tutored by a handful of more arcanely adept members of the Stained Glass Champions and indoctrinated into their principles of defending hearth, homestead, and the weak. By the time Vanya was 21 (equivalent to a human's 15 or 16), his superiors in the Stained Glass Champions recommended to Noleski that the half-elf join an expedition to the Stolen Lands. Supposedly, the area was under a heavy influx of energy from the First World, and investigating such could give some leads on how to help the Stained Glass Knight return home. Vanya pleaded with his father to allow him to visit the fae-touched forest "and partake of the wonders of the verdurous wilds." Noleski assented, under the reasoning that it would "make a man out of him." How wrong you are, father. Family Vanya's father is Noleski Surtova, (fiercely contested) king of Brevoy. His mother is Lilliel, a fey-blooded elven sage sorceress and noblewoman from Iadara. The half-elf has two younger brothers, Dorofey and Sasha, and two younger sisters, Galina and Milena; being fey-blooded half-elves, all have myriad idiosyncrasies, feminine appearances, and innate magics. Betrothal to Alisa Lebeda Just before Vanya's 21st birthday, he was betrothed to the second child of Sarrona Lebeda, Alisa.